China embracing online payments, survey finds

China’s online payment market appears to be swelling at an alarming rate as figures claim the sector grew to 776 billion yuan ($123.38 billion) in the first quarter of 2012. Author: Ashley Curtis

China’s online payment market appears to be swelling at an alarming rate as figures claim the sector grew to 776 billion yuan ($123.38 billion) in the first quarter of 2012.

According to research by IT consulting firm iResearch, cited by zdnetasia.com, the online payments industry increased by 112.6 per cent year-on-year and 1.2 per cent compared to its previous quarter results.

New business models, such as point-of-sales (POS) payment options and ‘online securities trading’, have been cited as reasons for the impressive growth.

However China, specifically the online payment industry, has to be wary of increasingly tight market regulations, other emerging markets and profitability requirements if it is to continue growing.

It comes as no surprise that China’s payments market is growing as earlier figures cite China and Thailand as the two big guns when it comes to online shopping in the Asia-Pacific market. Around 80 per cent of users in a recent survey claim to have shopped online, while 74 per cent of residents in Japan have gone online to shop.

iResearch’s figures follow a study by financial services firm Kapronasia, which suggests that the mobile market in China will grow to 441 million users by the end of 2015.

As a result, China’s m-payments sector is also set to grow, reports sourcingfocus.com.

Zennon Kapron, managing director at Kapronasia, commented on the figures: “2012 will prove to be a crucial year for the mobile payments industry as Chinese authorities establish final technology standards.”